JRiver Media Center Online Resources & Guides

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Any threads on this site for JRiver stuff. Typed in Jriver in the search and didn't see anything.

There are a number of good resources on JRiver online including:

Ted Brady Screencasts
Ted Brady (aka ted_b here on QQ) has two Screencast video guides to setting up JRiver that you can download and view
http://www.screencast.com/t/6RPtNbbKN4
http://www.screencast.com/t/52KgBYF34vSD
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=121419.0

exaSound and Merging Technologies
Both exaSound and Merging Technologies have detailed setup guides to using JRiver with their e38 and NADAC MC-8 and NADAC Player 8 Multichannel DACs.
In many cases, using these guides and settings, will get you up and running - even if you own a different model or brand of DAC.

Using exaSound DACs with a Windows PC
https://exasound.com/Blog/tabid/74/...perfect-ASIO-Playback-with-exaSound-DACs.aspx

Using the NADAC MC-8 and NADAC Player 8 with a Windows PC
https://confluence.merging.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=9338945

JRiver Interact Forum
JRiver also has a forum named Interact for tech support and questions. Worth a look if you have JRiver.
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php

More QQ Threads on JRiver
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?21229-Foobar-vs-JRiver&highlight=JRiver
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...come-over-to-the-dark-side-)&highlight=JRiver
 
There are a number of good resources on JRiver online including:

Ted Brady Screencasts
Ted Brady (aka ted_b here on QQ) has two Screencast video guides to setting up JRiver that you can download and view
http://www.screencast.com/t/6RPtNbbKN4
http://www.screencast.com/t/52KgBYF34vSD
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=121419.0

exaSound and Merging Technologies
Both exaSound and Merging Technologies have detailed setup guides to using JRiver with their e38 and NADAC MC-8 and NADAC Player 8 Multichannel DACs.
In many cases, using these guides and settings, will get you up and running - even if you own a different model or brand of DAC.

Using exaSound DACs with a Windows PC
https://exasound.com/Blog/tabid/74/...perfect-ASIO-Playback-with-exaSound-DACs.aspx

Using the NADAC MC-8 and NADAC Player 8 with a Windows PC
https://confluence.merging.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=9338945

JRiver Interact Forum
JRiver also has a forum named Interact for tech support and questions. Worth a look if you have JRiver.
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php

More QQ Threads on JRiver
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?21229-Foobar-vs-JRiver&highlight=JRiver
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...come-over-to-the-dark-side-)&highlight=JRiver

Thanks! Perfect timing. I've finally had it with coping with iTunes issues as they steadily remove the features I've used to manage my music since 2004. Over the last two weeks I've been learning (a little and steadily) about NAS, Raspberry Pi hardware options as I and my external hard drives move away from my Mac mini. The idea of a server where I can stream lossless rather than lossy iTunes synced files is appealing.

I've also been test driving the Windows version Jriver, with Plex and Kodi downloaded for experimenting after that trial period. So far I'm loving Jriver and I've only barely scratched its surface. My only reservation is giving up all the smart playlists, play histories and ratings that I've steadily built on all these years. I use all these features a lot. I couldn't get my playlists imported but I think that's a user error. I also use sort tags, which Jriver doesn't support; fortunately, I think the "Band" tag can be used in the place of my most important sorting: Artist. Still, it's all a lot of work upfront. A LOT. And thus trepidation — all pretty much due to Apple's walled garden, not these other developers.

Anyhow, that's just rambling. I'll add this thread to my list of resources, so thanks again.
 
I noticed this weekend while playing either FLAC or DSD through JRiver I would get nano second stops, not too often but still irritating.
Not sure if it would be the JRiver or my PC ?
 
Thanks! Perfect timing. I've finally had it with coping with iTunes issues as they steadily remove the features I've used to manage my music since 2004. Over the last two weeks I've been learning (a little and steadily) about NAS, Raspberry Pi hardware options as I and my external hard drives move away from my Mac mini. The idea of a server where I can stream lossless rather than lossy iTunes synced files is appealing.

I've also been test driving the Windows version Jriver, with Plex and Kodi downloaded for experimenting after that trial period. So far I'm loving Jriver and I've only barely scratched its surface. My only reservation is giving up all the smart playlists, play histories and ratings that I've steadily built on all these years. I use all these features a lot. I couldn't get my playlists imported but I think that's a user error. I also use sort tags, which Jriver doesn't support; fortunately, I think the "Band" tag can be used in the place of my most important sorting: Artist. Still, it's all a lot of work upfront. A LOT. And thus trepidation — all pretty much due to Apple's walled garden, not these other developers.

Anyhow, that's just rambling. I'll add this thread to my list of resources, so thanks again.

Another thing to consider on Windows vs. Mac. On many DACs, the DSD 256 bit rate is only supported with Windows - not the Mac OS. (exaSound being a notable exception with their Mac driver).
So you'll need a Windows PC/Laptop or a Windows session running on the Mac (Boot Camp, Parallels) to enjoy downloads at DSD 256 Stereo and Multichannel.
 
Another thing to consider on Windows vs. Mac. On many DACs, the DSD 256 bit rate is only supported with Windows - not the Mac OS.
So you'll need a Windows PC/Laptop or a Windows session running on the Mac (Boot Camp, Parallels) to enjoy downloads at DSD 256 Stereo and Multichannel.

This got a little tl;dr, but writing it out helped me... maybe it'll help others help me help myself through communal helpitude!

That's a good point. Condensed backstory: two recent developments have finally led me on this path. 1) SIX times over two weeks, my iPhone randomly deleted all the music on it (without warning) -- sometimes even while iTunes was syncing it (without an error messages). 2) My Mac mini started exhibiting a few minor quirks. The Apple "Geniuses" hooked up a diagnostic tool and told me my Mac's hard drive is beginning to fail. For $400 I could get a new internal or I could upgrade to a newer base model (that wouldn't accept my upgraded RAM).

Because of "1" above, though it seems to have mysteriously stabilized -- for now -- I simply can't count on the device's built-in music capabilities. Because of "2" above, either a $80 Raspberry Pi or a NAS server in the price range of the "repair" would offer much more bang for the buck. Side benefit, I wouldn't have to deal with Apple "Geniuses" who, among other things, over the phone before my appointment tried to suggest my Mac mini's problem was because I hooked it up to a UHDTV instead of an Apple monitor. That happened. In-store and over the phone I also had to go through many routines multiple times, explaining the same thing multiple times, and hearing, repeatedly, "well, I've never heard of that happening..." [silence]. Genius.

Okay, therapeutic rant over (and longer than intended), your points are great. Without doing a deep dive into my hardware, I do most of my computing on a Windows 10 laptop (2016 Dell). "It just works." That'd be my main interface if going Synology/QNap. If I go the Jriver route, I'd buy the multi-license platform since the Mac still works, the server seems to operate on a proprietary version of Linux and I daily use Windows.

It's this paragraph and the one below where I become a deer in the headlights. That seems my most robust route. A couple immediate pluses is that if I research for the right hardware I can stream in surround (I think) to both my systems. My Mac mini 2012 is limited to stereo). Not sure about that yet. Also want to future proof a little for 4k since I've already got both feet in that water. Seems I'd also be able to host my own private server online where family could remotely backup their photos and could access my media. Ideally, I'd like to still have audio files stored on my iPhone but the Jremote, from what I've read, is strictly a streamer. I may be wrong. Hard to know. I'm also about to upgrade to a gigabit ISP (Verizon is stealing me from Comcast at no extra charge -- yay, I get to switch devils again!)

It'd also allow me to start dipping my toe into ripping optical media beyond redbook CDs (e.g., DVD, Blu-ray, DVD-A). DSD... not sure. I've read some but mostly in context of SACD and I'm simply not adept or committed enough to hunt down an old PlayStation with specific hardware, etc.


The long and short... the more I can focus free time on this sort of stuff, the less time I have to lament over Twitter and the swirling chaos, healthcare worries, etc. Hooray for first world problems!
 
Okay, therapeutic rant over (and longer than intended), your points are great. Without doing a deep dive into my hardware, I do most of my computing on a Windows 10 laptop (2016 Dell). "It just works." That'd be my main interface if going Synology/QNap. If I go the Jriver route, I'd buy the multi-license platform since the Mac still works, the server seems to operate on a proprietary version of Linux and I daily use Windows.

Interesting that say you say "It just works".

I attended an audio show last year where a company was announcing that they had just added Roon support to the company's product line.
Yet, when I entered the room the company rep was playing a DSD Download with JRiver Media Center.

I asked, isn't this the room with a new Roon announcement?
He said Yes and asked, do you want me to switch to Roon and demo it?

I said not necessarily. And then asked, but why are you using JRiver at your Roon debut?
His response: "It just works". (!)

PS: My music files/downloads are also stored on a Synology NAS.
Works fine with JRiver.
 
Pardon the latest long post. It's specifically about Jriver but may be a slight tangent from the thread's gist.

Interesting that say you say "It just works".

I attended an audio show last year where a company was announcing that they had just added Roon support to the company's product line.
Yet, when I entered the room the company rep was playing a DSD Download with JRiver Media Center.

I asked, isn't this the room with a new Roon announcement?
He said Yes and asked, do you want me to switch to Roon and demo it?

I said not necessarily. And then asked, but why are you using JRiver at your Roon debut?
His response: "It just works". (!)

PS: My music files/downloads are also stored on a Synology NAS.
Works fine with JRiver.

Yeah, "It just works" was a gentle dig at Apple which I've increasingly found doesn't just work for me anymore. Glad it does for so many. I take it you didn't pursue Roon? Once I saw "subscription" on their site my brain's breaker switch cut off the idea. Interesting that he was using Jriver (or any non-Roon software, for that matter). Kind'a telling that he was so casual about it!

This thread got me experimenting with Jriver for CD ripping today. That's created a whole new layer of confusion. Over the last few years I've mostly used XLD but in the last year, as my Mac got a little wonky, I've just used iTunes on my Windows laptop. The results were similar by any of the limited metrics I know. Jriver, though? Wow/yikes/huh! So, a sample I used is Thelonious Monk's Complete Riverside (it was top of my stack). None of the ripping settings were changed in either software except that both were set for ALAC. As an example, the results for "Off Minor" (Take 5) 5:08. According to iTunes, the iTunes bitrate: 888 kbps; Jriver's bitrate: 11865 kbps. File sizes are comparable at ~33mb and in Jriver, the Jriver rips have numbers comparable to the iTunes rips. I don't even know what to make of that beyond maybe how iTunes is reading the metadata. I can't compare the audio quality today since I only have access to earbuds (my daily driver for podcasts). The results were similar throughout the 2-disc set.

That oddity aside, I prefer most of how Jriver does it. I also did Monk's Alone in San Francisco disc since it has a few deep scratches (cheap-o used) that choked iTunes. Jriver handled it smoothly. I like having multiple tagging options besides Gracenote -- though I don't like that the Composer field is always blank. Genre, disc #, too, but those are quick and easy to manually update. It's a reasonable trade-off even if most of my discs are in very good shape. I dug around a Jriver discussion comparing it with dbpoweramp. I'm not ready for two software purchases so unless I wind up with Kodi or Plex that's not an option.

I've still got 20 days to evaluate. Definitely need to sort out the "Artist sorting" and may have to blind-buy Jremote to learn to what degree it can pick up the slack of putting my iPhone's music apps (Cesium and Marvis) for at least my "must have" listening.

Ironwaffle- The Oppo 103 will rip SACDs. And Easy to get!

That's a good point. I also believe some Pioneers. As to the Oppo, doesn't it need to still be on a specific firmware? Even if it's easy to get, in the last year I've upgraded my AVR, upgraded from Oppo 93 to 203 and bought some new surrounds. My hardware budget's paper thin -- and hardware priority would have to go to NAS, etc. first. Unless you have a spare which I can have today for a cheeseburger tomorrow!;) And that doesn't count an indulgent year of media purchasing.
 
Kodi is free and latest version handles many more tags, sorting, smart play lists and has good remote (smart phone/tablet) support to play without needing a screen or TV.

Kodi also plays music videos including concerts in HD (both audio and video). JRiver doesn't support video.

I've also read Kodi supports USB DACs. I've never used one. I'm happy to let my AVR do my digital/analog conversion using HDMI pass through from Kodi.
 
I noticed this weekend while playing either FLAC or DSD through JRiver I would get nano second stops, not too often but still irritating.
Not sure if it would be the JRiver or my PC ?
You cannot hear nano-second stops. You might try increasing your data buffer in JRMC but the problem could be in your network or inadequacy in the processor.
 
That's a good point. I also believe some Pioneers. As to the Oppo, doesn't it need to still be on a specific firmware?
No. It needs to be a specific decoder chip.

Even if it's easy to get, in the last year I've upgraded my AVR, upgraded from Oppo 93 to 203 and bought some new surrounds.
The 203 will not rip SACDs.
 
Really? It does for some of us.

Video playback with JRiver Media Center works here as well.

JRiver Video Menus.png

Video Menus in JRiver Media Center
 
You cannot hear nano-second stops. You might try increasing your data buffer in JRMC but the problem could be in your network or inadequacy in the processor.

Well I guess my quote of nano second was clearly an error, I should have said brief interruptions.
I suspect it's my PC. I still have my NAS, Intel Nuc, etc to set up, all arriving this week, 4 hard drives for NAS arrived today.
In my JRiver options menu my prebuffering is set at the recommended 6 seconds.
Small issue I can wait till the big machine comes together.
 
Well I guess my quote of nano second was clearly an error, I should have said brief interruptions.
I suspect it's my PC. I still have my NAS, Intel Nuc, etc to set up, all arriving this week, 4 hard drives for NAS arrived today.
In my JRiver options menu my prebuffering is set at the recommended 6 seconds.
Small issue I can wait till the big machine comes together.

I was thinking of the hardware buffering which has a maximum of 500msecs. Prebuffering has a max of 20seconds on mine but I use 6.
Also, are you using the 32bit or the 64bit version? With the latter and enough RAM, you can load almost any track into RAM for smooth playback.
 
I was thinking of the hardware buffering which has a maximum of 500msecs. Prebuffering has a max of 20seconds on mine but I use 6.
Also, are you using the 32bit or the 64bit version? With the latter and enough RAM, you can load almost any track into RAM for smooth playback.


Not sure at this moment on the bit rate, I paid for the $49.00 MC23. Is there a tab that I can go to that says what bit rate version I have ?
FWIW: right now I have every FLAC and DSD I own loaded on this PC I am at 579GB free of 920GB so I am not worried big changes coming with the new equipment arriving this week.
 
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